System for conserving motive fluid



w. B. FLANDERS. SYSTEM FOR. CONSERVING MOTIVE FLUID.

APPLICAHQN FILED l w-VH2, H915- Patented Feb. 24,1920.

INVENTOR.

HIS ATTORNEY IN FACT:

WARREN B. FLANDERS, OF HABANA, CUBA,

ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING 00., A CORPORATION OFPENNSYLVANIA.

SYSTEM FOR CONSERVING MOTIVE FLUID.

Application filed July 22,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WARREN B. FLANDERS, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Habana, Cuba, have madea new and useful Invention in Systems for Conserving Motive Fluid, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the conservation of motive fluid, hereinaftercalled steam, and particularly to the conservation of steam in powerplants in connection with the feed water heating systems.

An object of this invention is to provide simple and improved means forventing air or other non-condensable gases from feed water heaters andparticularly heaters which are continuously or at times during theiroperation subjected to pressures above atmosphere.

A further object is to provide a heater which may be employed inconnection with steam conserving apparatus and in which simple andimproved means are employed for discharging air and non-condensablegases without wasting steam.

A further object of the invention is to produce a new and improved feedwater heating system in which means are employed for maintaining thepressure of the steam delivered to the feed water heater substantiallyconstant and in which simple and improved means are employed for ventingair or non-condensable gases delivered to the feed water heater.

A further object is to produce a system for heating feed water and forconserving the steam available for heating the feed water, in whichimproved means are employed for venting air and non-condensable gasesintroduced into the system with the steam or with the water to beheated.

These and other objects, which will be made apparent throughout thefurther description of my invention are attained by means of a feedwater heating system herein described and illustrated in the drawingsaccompanying and forming a part hereof.

In the single sheet drawing I have illustrated diagrammatically inFigure 1 a feed water heating system which forms an embodiment of myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic sectional view on the line 2-2 of a part of theapparatus illustrated in Fig. 1. g I

In power plants, or similar installations,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

1915. Serial No. 41,285.

it is customary to deliver the steam exhausted from the steam drivenauxiliaries to a feed water heater, where it is employed in heating thewater prior to its delivery to the steam generators. It will be apparentthat if the exhaust steam so delivered to the heater is sufficient inquantity to heat the feed water to a determined temperature duringperiods of full load on the steam generators, it will be in excessduring periods of light load, since the load on the generators varies inapproximately direct ratio to variations in the load on the prime moversor main power developing units, whereas the amount of steam exhaustedfrom the auxiliaries remains substantially constant regardless ofvariations in the load on the prime movers. On the other hand, if thenumber of auxiliaries, delivering exhaust steam to the feed waterheater, is so proportioned that the steam delivered to the heater duringnormal loads on the main power units or prime movers, is just sufiicient to be economically employed in heating the feed water, there willnot be sufiicient steam to raise the feed water to the desiredtemperature when the main power units are developing maximum power.

In order, therefore, to conserve the steam and to increase the economyof the entire plant or installation, means have been provided forautomatically delivering the excess steam which cannot be efiicientlyemployed in the feed water heater to a power developing mechanism orsome other apparatus in which the heat of the. steam can be usefullyemployed. Means have also been employed for automatically augmenting thesupply of heating steam by delivering additional steam to the heaterwhen the normal source of heating steam supply is insufiicient tomaintain the feed water at the desired temperature. WVith such apparatusthe so-called open heater cannot be employed, since the automaticregulation of the steam supply to the heater is ordinarily accomplishedthrough variations in the pressure of the steam supplied, andconsequently the heater, although it may be of the open heater type,issubjected to pressure which at times exceeds atmospheric ressure. Undersuch conditions, it is di cult to effect a removal of the air and othernoncondensable fluids from the heater without dissipating heat energy.

My invention overcomes this difliculty, and, as illustrated, includes afeed water heater which is adapted to receive steam under pressure andis provided with a vent port for venting air or other noncondensablegases from the heater. The vent port communicates with apparatus of suchcapacity that it is capable of efliciently or economically employing thefluid vented from the heater during the periods of great est fluidpressure within the heater. In the apparatus illustrated, the means foruti1izing the vented fluid is shown as an auxiliary heater whichoperates to condense the steam vented from the main heater and whichalso abstracts heat from the air or other noncondensable gases ventedfrom the main heater.

The illustrated embodiment of my invention includes a prime mover ormain power developing unit 3, which is illustrated diagrammatically as asteam turbine. The main power unit is illustrated as exhausting into acondenser 4 of any type, to which condensing water is delivered by meansof a pump 5, through a pipe or passage 6, the pump receiving water froma pipe 6. I have illustrated diagrammatt cally a steam turbine 7 fordriving the pump 5. This turbine receives steam through a pipe orpassage 8 and the steam exhausted therefrom is delivered through a pipeor passage 9 to a receiver or exhaust main 10, with which the exhaust ofother steam driven auxiliaries may communicate. I have also shownanother auxiliary turbine 7 arranged to discharge into the exhaust main10 by means of a pipe 9.

A feed water heater 11 is diagrammatically illustrated in the drawingsand as shown receives heating fluid from the receiver 10 through apassage 13, which is provided with a valve 13. The heater 11 is providedwith an air vent port 12, which communicates with a second heater 14,shown as located above the heater 11 and to which all of the water to beheated is delivered prior to its delivery to the heater.

As illustrated, the heater 14: is of the surface or closed type and isprovided with an air vent 15, which is shown as communicating with theatmosphere. Water to be heated is delivered to the heater 14 through apipe 16, and after traversing the tubes LP of the heater 1 1, isdelivered through a pipe 17 to the spray nozzles 18 of the heater 11. Itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that various types ofheaters may be employed and that the details of construction of both theheaters may be materially modified without in any way departing from thespirit or scope ofthe invention as set forth by the appended claims. Inthe drawings I have illustrated a condensate return pipe 14communicating with the heater 14: and

with the heater.11 below the normal water level of that heater. Othermeans may be employed for disposing of the water of condensation, butwhere an open communication such as illustrated is employed, the heater14 should be raised above the heater 11 a suflicient height to preventwater from being forced from the heater 11 into the heater 14.

The working passage of the turbine 3 communicates with the receiver 10through a system of piping 19. As illustrated, the piping 19 includes anordinary form of valve commonly known as a constant pressure or heatbalance valve, which is diagrammatically illustrated at 21. A valve suchas that disclosed by the Patent No. 1,198,635 to Francis Hodgkinson maybe employed as the valve 21. The pipe also includes a manually operatedvalve 22 for permanently shutting off communication between the turbineand the receiver and the receiver may and preferably will be providedwith a safety or pop-off valve 19 such as is ordinarily employed forrelieving excessive pressure. The valve 21 is so arranged that it willopen in response to the pressure of the fluid in the receiver 10 anddeliver fluid therefrom to the turbine 3, when the pressure within thereceiver exceeds a determined pressure. It may also be arranged to openin response to a decrease in pressure within the receiver 10 and toadmit augmenting fluid or steam from the working passage of the turbine3 to the receiver. The valve above referred to, patented to Hodgkinson,embodies these features. For this reason, the piping 19 preferablycommunicates with the working passage of the turbine at such a pointthat the pressure normally existing at the point of connection issubstantially equal to the pressure which it is desired to maintainwithin the receiver 10.

In Fig. 2, I have shown such a connec tion. As shown, the turbine 3 isprovided with two sections 3 and 3 which operate in series. An annularchamber 3 is in open communication with the working passages of theturbine between the two sections 3 and 3 Consequently it is a point ofintermediate pressure to which auxiliary low pressure steam may beadmitted or from which low pressure steam may be with drawn. The piping19 is shown connected to the annular chamber 3.

Assume for the purposes of description that 100,000 pounds of water areto be heated per hour from 100 F to 216 F. and that the receiver 10receives 20,000 pounds of exhaust steam per hour from the varioussources communicating with it. Assume also that the constant pressure orheat balance valve 21 is so adjusted that it will not open in responseto an excess of pressure in the receiver 10 until the pressure in thereceiver is equal to or exceeds 16 pounds absolute. Under suchconditions a pressure of 16 pounds absolute will be normally maintainedin the heater 11, and steam will flow from the heater through the ventpipe 12 to the heater 1 1 in which atmospheric pressure (14.7 poundsabsolute) is maintained due to the vent 15 being open to the atmosphere.

Assume also that the pipe 12 is of such size that under the conditionsabove set forth approximatel 2000 pounds of steam per hour will flowfrom the heater 11 to the heater 14. The steam entering the heater 14will be condensed therein by the 100,000 pounds of water passingtherethrou'gh and the temperature of the water will be raised from 100to 119.35, which as is apparent is not sufficient rise in temperature tocause the formation of scale in the heater 14: and consequently asurface heater such as illustrated may be employed. The water afterpassing through the heater to the heater 11, where it is mixed with thesteam entering the heater from the receiver 10. As a result of themixture of the steam and water approximately 10,000 pounds of steam arecondensed and thewater is itself heated to 216 F. 2000+10,000 pounds,2'. 6., 12,000 pounds of the available steam can be employed in heatingthe feed water, the remaining 8000 will cause the constant pressurevalve 21 to lift and the excess steam will be delivered to the mainpower developing unit and will do useful work therein in expanding tocondenser pressure. It will be obvious that whenever there is more steamavailable than can be condensed in the two heaters 11 and 141 that thepressure in the ex haust or receiver 10 and in the heater 11 will be atleast equal to the pressure required to lift or open the constantpressure valve 21 and if there is less steam than can be condensed inthe two heaters, the vent openings 12 and 15 will prevent the pressurefalling below atmosphere in the exhaust steam system. The constantpressure valve may be so adjusted that as soon as the pressure in theexhaust main or receiver 10 falls below 15 pounds absolute, it will openand deliver steam from the main power unit to the receiver and therebymaintain approximately 16 pounds pressure in the receiver.

From the above description it will be apparent that by properlyproportioning the vent or passage 12 of the heater 11, with respect tothe capacity of the heater 1 1, the heater 11 will not only be properlyvented, but all of the steam delivered to it will be efficientlyemployed in heating the feed water. As is apparent from the abovedescription, the vent passage 12 and 14:, is delivered Inasmuch as onlydelivering actuating mechanism of the valve 21 should be so proportionedthat the valve 21 will open and relieve the pressure, within thereceiver 10 or heater 11, when the pressure conditions are such that thevent passage 12 will pass more fluid than the apparatus communicatingwith it is capable of efiectively utilizing. While Ihave shown theheater 14 arranged to deliver the water passing through it to the heater11, it will be apparent that this water may be utilized elsewhere afterit is heated by the heater 1a and that the heater 14 may be replaced byany apparatus capable of utilizing low pressure fluid. It will also beapparent that various changes, modifications, substitutions, additionsand omissions may e made in the apparatus illustrated without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth by the appendedclaims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with an open feed water heater, a passage to which lowpressure motive fluid is delivered and with which said feed water heatercommunicates, a steam utilizing power having the low pressure stagethereof communicating with said passage, and a valve between said unitand said passage for delivering augmenting fluid from the unit to thepassage when the pressure in the pas-- sage falls below a determinedpressure.

2. A feed water heating system comprising a feed water heater having anatmospheric vent, a source of heating fluid supply communicating withsaid heater, a steam actuated motor communicating wit said source ofheating fluid supply, and a valve located between said source an saidoperation to variations in the pressure at said source for deliveringfluid from said source to said motor and for fluid from said motor tosaid source.

3. In a system of the character described, a water heater to whichexhaust fluid is delivered, a power developing apparatus, an meansresponsive to pressure within the heater for delivering fluid from theheater to a working passage 0 the power develop ing apparatus or fordelivering working fluid from the power developing apparatus to theheater to maintain the pressure within the heater substantiallyconstant.

a. In a system of the character described, a power unit utilizing steam,an exhaust steam receiver, a feed water heater provided with anatmospheric vent and receiving steam from the receiver for heating thewater in the heater, and means for diverting exhaust steam to a workingpassage of the power unit only when the exhaust steam necessary for therequirements of the feed water is excessive.

5. In a system of the character described,

developing unit I a power unit utilizing steam, an exhaust a feed waterheater provided an atmospheric vent and receiving steam from thereceiver for heating the water in the heater, and means for divertingsteam from the working passage of the power unit to the receiver onlywhen the exhaust steam necessary for the requirements of the feed wateris deficient. In combination in a power system of the class described, afeed Water heater, a source of heating fluid supply of less capacitythan the maximum requirements of the-heater and greater than the minimumrequirements of the heater, in

responsive to pressure therein for maintaining a supply of heating fluidto the heater at substantially uniform pressure.

The combination with a jet feed water heater havinga continuously openvent and aheatmg system having means for main- WARREN B. FLANDERS.

Witnesses:

RAOUL F. WASHINGTON, L. A. CHRIsTY.

